Tinubu clears all national team match bonuses and coaches salary arrears in the run-up to Nations Cup

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has cleared the backlog of match bonuses owed to members of the Super Eagles and other Nigerian national teams approving the payment of N12bn ($13.1m) which also covers the clearing of salary arrears.

Later this month, the Super Eagles will be participating in the African Cup of Nations taking place in Ivory Coast. However, the team is still being owed a backlog of match bonuses and the coaching staff have months of outstanding salary arrears that remain unpaid by the Nigerian Football federation (NFF).

To avoid any conflicts during the tournament, the Federal Ministry of Sports has decided to wade into the matter and clear all outstanding payments. A bill, clearing all the payments has been presented to President Tinubu and he has approved the expenditure that will clear the senior national team coach salaries over the last 15 months, as well as cover the payments of allowances and promises due to the numerous national teams.

A presidency spokesman said: "President Tinubu has approved the payment of N12bn outstanding backlog for Nigeria’s national teams of various sports, which includes Super Eagles and others. The payment entails the clearing of the senior national team coach salaries running up to 15 months, payments of allowances and promises due to the senior national teams, females and Under-20 national team.

“This is coming at a time when the Super Eagles of Nigeria are preparing to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations, which is billed to start later this month.”